What little water they had carried with them had mostly been consumed and many were feeling the effects of dehydration. Vincent checked his watch, estimated that they had been on the run now for two hours. He took pity on his people as he looked around, wishing that there was another way they could have dealt with the 4Horsemen.
Unlike most others he had rationed well. Removing his backpack and rifle he offered a drink from his water bottle to his wife, who looked parched. She sipped a little, passed it back and give him a kiss on the cheek. He took a long swig.
“What’s the head count?” he asked, swallowing.
“Forty-eight. Everyone accounted for?”
Vincent took some solace in the fact that they had not lost a single person in this altercation. “I did think we had more,” he said, with a sigh.
“We’ve lost so many over the past few weeks. I suppose if we did have more though, then this whole thing would be so much harder to manage right?”
“Yes, without a doubt. It is such a dreadful time and we have had to make some big calls, this being the biggest yet. Bigger ones are still to come no doubt.”
“A lot of people are depending on us Vincent,” Lily said, placing a hand on his shoulder. “So, what now darling?”
Vincent thought for a moment. Glanced around at those slumped on the ground. “We should try and find some water. We don’t want anyone dying of thirst before we get there do we.” He spoke softly, so that only his wife could hear him.
Lily and only a few select others knew of the precise location to which Vincent was referring. This included the rotund middle-aged man who as it turns out, was Vincent’s second and the thin bony fingered woman. Her name was Beth and she had been at the Oasis since the beginning, running logistics, managing inventory and advising both Vincent and Lily on important issues.
“Listen up,” Vincent said, addressing the group. “Rest for a little while. That was a close call but you should all be very proud of yourselves. We’re not out of the woods yet and it is so vital that we all remain vigilant. We have a long and difficult journey ahead of us.”
There was some murmuring.
“Where are we headed?” Came a voice from near the rear.
“We know of a place which will give us shelter and safety. It is a fair walk from here, but it is our only option.”
“What we need to do now,” interjected Beth, “is find some water. People are thirsty. Once we have done that then we can head out again.”
More murmurs. No-one said anything that was beyond a mumble.
After a brief discussion with Vincent, Lily and their two advisors a couple of big burley men set out to look for water. Dressed all in black both men were part of the elite Shadowmen regiment. They turned every tap they found and checked every car for water bottles, searching every bag they came across.
The Armstrongs consisted now only eleven, having lost three of their group in such a short space of time. They had not had time to think, much less contemplate their future as events had conspired to keep them on the run now for days. Nikita and Olivia tended to the wound on Jon’s arm, it was healing well and simply required a dressing change. Josh and Eric checked all the weapons amongst their party and passed out fresh ammunition to those who needed it.
Siobhan sharpened the long blade of her massive sword, tested it with a twig, slicing it in one clean action. Passed the sharpening stone to Colin who immediately began to scrape the blades of his two meat cleavers.
Amongst their arsenal of weapons the Armstrong’s also possessed rifles, pistols, Gerard’s golf clubs, Eric’s baseball bat, hatchets, an axe and more. Unconventional at best, but highly effective. Protruding through the top of Jon’s large backpack was the handle of his chainsaw.
“Dad!” Josh glared at his father. “Really?”
“Well you never know when it might come in handy,” Jon replied, with a smile.
Vincent addressed the throng again, there was genuine concern in his voice. “Just in case we run into them, does everyone here know what to do when confronting the undead?” Looked around. “These things are not human. If you do not kill them, they will most certainly kill you.”
“You must go for the brain,” added Siobhan. She stepped forward into a sea of faces that were staring curiously at her. “I’m not sure how many of you have fought the undead before and I honestly don’t care. What I do care about is the risk you pose to the rest of us if you do not know what you are doing. This is about survival. Life and death.”
Siobhan took control and meant every word. As she spoke all eyes glued on her.
“As Vincent said these things will kill you, so you must act decisively. Do not hesitate. If you do, you will be bitten and we will have to leave you – there is no hope for you once you have the infected blood in your system.”
“So, how do we kill them,” came a woman’s voice.
“Great question.” Siobhan smiled. Held the point of a knife to her temple. “With all your might, plunge whatever weapon you have, right here,” pointed to her forehead. “Stabbing anywhere else is a complete waste of time, no matter how many times you stick them.”
“Keep your feelings and emotions out of it too,” added Josh, adding to the impromptu combat lesson – ‘How to kill the undead 101’.
“That’s so right, the moment you hesitate is the moment you die. You must see them as creatures, not humans!”
Silence.
Seconds ticked by.
Deep thoughts.
Vincent looked to the road received a wave from one of his men patrolling the entrance to say it was all clear. Nodded in response. Turned to Beth to get a better idea as to the best and safest route to take and two of them discussed it briefly before coming to an agreement. Checking his watch again Vincent decided that they needed to move again soon.
Suddenly the silence was shattered by a loud wail. The somewhat nearly forgotten sound of a car alarm echoed through the carpark. As it expended the last of its stored energy it whirred, coughed and spluttered a final time before cutting out abruptly. The echo took a minute or so to abate.
Silence.
Startled, many leapt to their feet with weapons drawn. Eyes as wide as saucers swept around them, hearts collided with chest cavities beating loudly. Some had gathered up their belongings in readiness to run. Fight or flight, they chose their response.
Shapes appeared, two of them at the far end of the carpark. They were moving fast, too fast Josh thought to be creatures. Grasping his hockey sticks he squinted, focusing on the incoming forms. The two men who had been searching for water came into view, they were running for their lives.
Moaning came from behind them, echoing through the carpark.
More shapes appeared, shuffling in a determined manner. The pursuit was slow, but dogged. On they came. Vincent turned to see that the creatures were actually bearing down quicker than he had anticipated. The two men arrived, gasping for breath. Took a brief moment.
“We…,” started of the men as he gasped for air. “We… found water,” he managed to blurt out. Held up a bag with half a dozen sealed Evian bottles. “But… we have to go!” He turned, pointed to the incoming creatures. “There are too many of them.”
Siobhan drew her sword, gripped it with both hands and faced the incoming swarm head on. “Well,” she said with a steely look of determination in her eyes, “while you lot are making up your minds on what to do, the rest of us will slow them down a bit.”
Vincent, Beth and Lily began hurriedly ushering the survivors back out onto the road. They thought they had more time, but they were dead wrong.
With a degree of calmness and confidence Siobhan swung her heavy sword. Two lifeless eyes stared blankly back at her as the decapitated head of the lead creature flew through the air, landing with a sickening thud against the door of a parked car. A second lusty blow sliced right through the temple of another. Reveling in the chance to show the group how it was done she launched an all-out counter-offensiv
e, quickly finding her groove.
Colin joined her as the Armstrong’s responded to the threat as one. Flexing his muscles he swung his meat cleavers with tremendous force and meticulous precision. His first blow landed on the on the shoulder of an advancing creature, embedding itself deep into the bone of the shoulder blade and serving as an anchor point. The second blow sliced straight through the neck and upper vertebrate removing the head in one foul swoop.
As the body fell Colin slammed one of his gum boots onto its chest, pulled the cleaver from its shoulder. Crouching low he swung hard, carving through another creature’s kneecap. Finished it off with a powerful blow right between the eyes as it toppled over.
Ping!
Eric was up next, batting strongly. He had spent some time recently pimping out his weapon, wrapping barbed wire around it. Not only did it ping on impact, but now it cut, tore and ripped skin from bone. A creature came at him, male and dressed as if he had once worked here as a carpark attendant. Eric slammed a forceful blow into his face, recoiled and swung again with all his might, causing dark dirty blood to ooze from the gaping wound in its skull.
More people from the Oasis group, including some of the Shadowmen joined in. The fight in the carpark raged on as the survivors battled to repel the relentless wave of the undead.
Jon frowned. He saw the line breaking and quickly came to the conclusion that they were severely outnumbered and cornered. Once again he had to act decisively and step in to save the day.
“Stand back!” Jon yanked on the cord of his chainsaw and it whirred to life. No-one had seen him remove it from his backpack.
Creatures kept coming.
Depressing his finger on the trigger Jon revved the motor, stepped forward and unleashed a frenzied attack. The chain bit deep, severing limbs and dissecting body parts. He worked hard to gain the ascendency, taking control in a matter of minutes. Flesh and bone were no match for his weapon and he carved a swathe through the advancing creatures.
Bodies lay everywhere. Moaning subsided.
Jon switched off the motor. Gave a wry smile as he watched the others finish off the last of the undead that were still moving.
There was no time to savor their victory. A voice bellowed a warning, there were more creatures approaching along the street. It was time to flee once again and Beth and Lily led the way.
Water bottles passed through hands as the group marched hastily away from their pursuers, quickly gaining enough separation to feel safe again. Only then did those out front allow the pace to ease. They continued to press on, cautiously, weaving and winding their way through the city.
“Damn, it’s a really hot one today,” said Tyler, wiping the sweat from his brow. He was right, it was indeed a hot sultry afternoon. Tough going indeed for many in the group.
“Yeah bro,” Josh replied. “It’s a stinker.”
“Where we headed again?”
“Not a hundy percent. They know what they’re doing though.”
“Do we even know what is out there?”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, we really don’t know much about what is in this side of the city. We actually don’t know if anyone is out there at all.”
“Well bro, I guess we will just have to find out won’t we.”
For the remainder of the day they continued on quietly. Most of the group were preoccupied with their own thoughts as they rambled onward, as a result no-one really spoke. They encountered only the odd stray creature along the way, dispensing with them easily.
That night they sheltered in a cinema, which provided them with both a level of security and an unexpected degree of comfort. Once they had barricaded the front doors and all the exits, the real sense of danger abated and they relaxed feeling less vulnerable. Spread themselves out on the cushioned seats and started to relax for the first time that day.
Tyler laid back in his seat, rested his feet on the top of the seat in front of him. Glanced around in the flickering candlelight half expecting to see an usher running down the aisle with torch in hand to tell him off. He giggled quietly to himself as he realized that he could finally get away with breaking the rules at the movies. He settled in, placed his hands behind his head and closed his eyes.
“Tyler Armstrong!” Olivia’s voice jolted her son upright. “Take your feet off the seats at once! I raised you better than that.”
As he slid his feet sheepishly from the plush seat laughter erupted loudly within the picture theatre. Tyler’s face turned crimson with embarrassment. Turned to his mother who had an enormous grin on her face, as did most of the Armstrong group.
When the world turned to shit all the fun and excitement in the lives of survivors vanished along with it. They did their best to entertain themselves, but when they laughed they did so with caution. When they slept, they did so with one eye open. Times like this where they could let their hair down and joke with one another were rare.
Four of Vincent’s men entered the cinema carrying a heap of cardboard boxes. They too smiled, but for different reasons. Placing the boxes on the floor they peeled open the lids, reached inside and pulled out packets of food. Junk food.
“Dinner is served,” said one of the men.
That evening they all ate like kings, gorging themselves in chocolate and sweets. They washed down each course with warm soda, some of which had lost their fizz. Nobody really cared.
Tyler woke early. He no longer required an alarm to wake him, his internal clock worked just fine now. A dreamless sleep had replenished him and with a stretch he blinked, adjusted his eyes to the blackness that surrounded him. No-one else stirred at that hour, shoring echoed throughout the large auditorium.
Eventually, after a sound sleep and with some resistance the others finally roused. They ate breakfast and then prepared to continue their exodus to the other side of the city. Backpacks were stuffed to the brim with whatever leftover junk food they could carry. Many munched on chocolate for second breakfast as they moved on from the cinema. Ahead of them was a dull and dreary journey.
31
Perilous Journey
There was a sense of calm amongst the travelers as they set out, stepping cautiously through the nearby streets. The shimmering sun arched overhead burning brightly and the group felt refreshed, invigorated and somewhat optimistic as they were warmed by the rays of the early sun.
Out in the wastelands of this barren and desolate city the way forward often required a detour, sometimes a retreat or even an alternative route. Roads were often blocked by abandoned vehicles, making passage too unsafe for anyone to continue directly. Each and every detour added to the already high risk situation the group were exposed to on this journey.
Up ahead, the entire neighborhood looked like it had been hit by a hurricane, shops in every direction had been plundered and the way ahead was paved with debris. Clothing, shoes, books, electrical goods lay strewn everywhere. The only sound was the fluttering of discarded newspapers in the crisp morning breeze. It was an eerie setting, a chilling reminder of the events of the recent past and a stark warning of the dangers of the present. They proceeded with caution.
When the world turned looting was rife in all areas of the city. Panic set in quickly as ordinary citizens fought desperately with one another for the things that were vital for survival. Food, water and medical supplies were targeted first and only the strongest prevailed, fleeing the city with their newly acquired provisions, leaving the weak to fend for themselves. No-one knew what became of those who fled, they were never seen again. As for those who remained behind most perished and for the rest, their battle for survival rages on.
It took the group more than an hour to get clear of the rubble, regular sporadic attacks from many stray creatures hampered their progress. Each encounter no matter how brief, slowed them and wore them down. Bit by bit they grew fatigued.
Blazing sun began to heat up the cityscape, roasting everything and everyone below. By mid-morning the oppressive heat
had become unbearable as the humidity began to ooze up from the concrete jungle floor.
Another hour passed, it might have been more. Tyler wasn’t sure. Time had less relevance to him now, but he guessed it was well past noon. Removing his dark-rimmed spectacles he polished them with a red rag from his pants pocket and wiped his forehead with the back of his arm.
“Damn! I can’t take much more of this,” he said with an exasperated sigh.
Josh raised his eyebrows in acknowledgement. “Yeah,” he said, scanning their surroundings. “We should take a breather.”
“Not yet,” said Vincent. “Just a little longer.”
Groans. The group was exhausted.
Olivia swallowed hard. Her mouth was unbearably dry.
“People are parched Vincent,” said Jon. “About ready to keel over.”
Vincent relented. “Up ahead then,” he said, pointing. “We’ll look for a safe place to rest up there.”
He was referring to a small shopping center in the distance, set back off the road which was located at the rear of a large carpark. Two large columns at the entrance held up large glass doors which welcomed shoppers inside. There was a massive department store, chemist, women’s boutique, café and hairdressing salon. There was also a cycle shop, travel agency, bakery and liquor store. The area was quiet, sheltered and at first glance easily defendable - an ideal location for a comfort stop.
Eric led the first group inside to secure the department store. He was feeling quite self-assured, very gung-ho. Not arrogant, just over confident and sadly mistaken about his own ability. Rarely did the others allow him to lead them anywhere, it was simply too risky. Today however, there was nothing they could do to stop him and boldly he stepped through the glass doors.
Tyler pushed up his glasses and slowly followed his brother-in-law inside. Still hated him with a passion, crossed his fingers in the hope that he would fuck something up. It was inevitable, only a matter of time.
The interior was dark and murky, filled with floating dust particles everywhere. It also had a horrid musty odor to it. Something shadowy moved behind some furniture.
Dark of Dawn 4Horsemen: Book one in the Dark of Dawn Series Page 31